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exact rates, but the new figures for making the calculation are not yet
available:—
Westminster. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912.
Legitimate Births
(net) 2,971 2,744 2,764 2,739 2,548 2,399 2,195 2,194
Illegitimate Births
(net) 149 187 163 174 203 193 166 155
During the year notification was received of 1,469 births which
took place in Westminster; of these, 34 were stillborn children, whose
births are not subsequently registered. By comparing the births
which were registered as having occurred after the 1st January with
those notified, it is found that the proportion of births notified was
71.1 per cent, for the City. The proportion of notified was greater than
in previous years (64.8 per cent, in 1909, 68 in 1910, 70.9 in 1911).
The attention of a number of parents was called to their failure to
notify.
In addition, information was received through the County Council of
births coming to their knowledge in their work of supervising midwives,
and from Medical Officers of Health of boroughs in which there is a
maternity hospital; births occurring in such an institution would be
registered in the borough in which it is situate.
There are, further, those infants whose births were not notified, but
were eventually registered.
Those mothers and infants are visited after the twelfth day by the
Council's visitor, Mrs. Watkinson, in co-operation witli the voluntary
health visitors in cases where advice appears desirable. 1,926 were
visited, besides 31 of the cases in which there were stillborn children;
93 did not desire or did not appear to require further visiting, and
52 were not found (these occur among the registered births where
several weeks intervene between the birth and registration, in which
time the parents have moved).
The visitors endeavour to keep in touch with the children up to
school age, in this way. 3,734 children born in previous years, 1908-11
have been visited during 1912. After the first visit to those born in
1912, the visitors have kept up the visiting of 1,600 babies. After
making allowance for removals and deaths, there were at the end of the
year 4,435 children on the visiting list.
By co-operation with the hospitals and lying-in charities the Health
Society received the names of a considerable number of women expecting
to become mothers. Arrangements are made by the visitors as to